Blogger who reported car accident involving top Gazprombank manager requests prosecutor to open case into disclosure of personal data

On the evening of 25 May Svetlana Robenkova lodged a petition with the prosecutor of Moscow, Sergei Kudeneev, requesting that a investigation be opened into the disclosure her full name, date of birth and registered address, and that those responsible be brought to justice.

On 18 May the administrator of the blog schmidt-a-0.livejournal.com, which is run on behalf of Gazprombank Vice President Alexander Schmidt, published a copy of Gazprombank's motion to initiate criminal proceedings against Robenkova. The document is in the public domain and cites the blogger's personal data, including her surname, first name, patronymic, date of birth and the full address of her registered place of residence, reports an Open Information Agency correspondent. Agora Human Rights Association Agora is representing the interests of Svetlana Robenkova. The human rights defenders point out that, "The publication of these data on the internet constitutes dissemination as an intentional act disclosing personal data to an undefined group of people."

According to Article 7 of the Federal Law "On Personal Data" (27 July 2006 No.152-FЗ), people who have acquired access to personal data must not disclose it to a third party or disseminate it without the consent of the subject of the personal data, unless otherwise provided by federal law."As regards receiving my consent to collect, process and disseminate my personal data, no one approached me and I did not give my consent to Gazprombank or the administrator of the blog schmidt-a-0.livejournal.com. An administrative offence has been committed against me," the blogger Svetlana Robenkova emphasised in her petition.

At issue is Article 13.11 of the Russian Federation Code on Administrative Offences, which establishes liability for “violating the procedure laid down by law for collecting, keeping, using or disseminating information about citizens (personal data)."

According to the ranking data from Livejournal.com, at the time of Robenkova's signing of the petition the schmidt-a-0.livejournal.com blog was ranked at number 132 with 3,309 views. This fact, in the blogger's own words, "acts as evidence of the wide dissemination of my personal data and of the substantial violation of my rights and legitimate interests."

The blogger Svetlana Robenkova is requesting that the prosecutor of Moscow open an investigation into the administrative offence to bring those responsible to justice under the Administrative Code, and to inform her of the decision made.